Having whipped Australia, the Indians now look set to take on England. Is cricket headed for a new world order, asks Rob Steen in the Financial Times
When Australia’s cricket team flew to India early last month they had their sights on matching one of the game’s longest-standing records. When they flew home this week, they had been soundly beaten and captain Ricky Ponting faced fierce criticism. Even those with a poor sense of smell scented an era’s end.
A ninth consecutive victory in a Test series would have equalled England’s sequence between 1884 and 1892. Instead, Australia dominated the first two days of the opening Test but allowed India’s eighth-wicket pair to save the follow-on. Then they were drubbed in the second Test and spent the last two chasing shadows.
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India have won only seven of their last 22 home Tests, and while their spinners have been less effective recently, that is hardly the complete explanation writes S Rajesh in CricInfo
South Africa’s emphatic win by an innings and 90 runs in Ahmedabad – India’s heaviest home defeat in nearly 50 years – has raised plenty of chatter along the lines of “Have India lost the ability to dominate at home?” The stats will show that India have won eight of their last 12 series at home, but more recently, home wins have been much tougher to come by, while opposition line-ups have learnt the art of holding India to a draw at least.
In the last five years (since January 2003), India have been held to a drawn series by New Zealand, Pakistan and England, and have lost to Australia. Of India’s three series wins, two were by slender 1-0 margins, and only one – against Sri Lanka in 2005-06 – was by a convincing 2-0 verdict.
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Soumya Bhattacharya in Cricinfo says cricket is perhaps unique among team sports in that individual face-offs within the larger contests matter almost as much as the main event. Tendulkar v Lee, anyone?
In the buffet that is Cricinfo Magazine, there is, tucked away like a garnish or a bottle of extra virgin Tuscan olive oil, a section called Golden Pairs. Here, a writer imagines which two batsmen he/she would like to see up against which two bowlers. You have the history of the game to choose from. Anything goes. The more improbable the matchings-up, perhaps the better. It’s a fantasist’s delight. It’s a fan’s delight. If you have missed it, you ought to look it up now.
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Harsha Bhogle in The Indian Express
Indian cricket has taken giant strides in the world’s toughest testing ground. Some wonderful cricket was played on the ground and it was the attitude that fuelled it as much as the ability. This might be the turning point in our cricket, though the assessment must be made a little later — every event seems momentous in the hours immediately following it.
But as far as I recall, it has been a long time since a set of youngsters took the opportunity that was offered them so spontaneously and that is why I believe the reason for this success goes beyond training on a cricket ground. It has to be symbolic of a larger force, a greater movement. Something bigger than what we saw on a cricket field is taking place in India and that is what makes the present moment so terribly exciting.
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